MLK Jr. historic burial site vandalized in Atlanta, suspect in custody

A 26-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage after vandalizing a monument at The King Center in Atlanta.

A 26-year-old man is in custody after vandalizing the “Eternal Flame” at the Martin Luther King Jr. burial site located at The King Center, more formally known as The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in the Atlanta neighborhood where King grew up. 

According to Atlanta’s WSB-TV, Brent Jones has been charged with with public indecency, trespassing, criminal damage and obstruction after urinating in the sites reflecting pool and stomping on and breaking the eternal flame at the site. He was taken into custody by Atlanta police and booked into the Fulton County Jail where he is currently in custody. 

Representatives from the King Center released the following statement. 

“The King Center is aware of a minor incident that occurred near the Eternal Flame. While there was minimal damage to the Eternal Flame and the surrounding area, The King Center remains fully open to visitors. The Eternal Flame still burns with love, and we continue to welcome everyone with open arms and gratitude for the incredible support of our beloved community. The dream lives on.”

The King Center, which is both a memorial and an educational facility located in the Sweet Auburn Avenue corridor of Atlanta, is open year-round and is part of a tour featuring several prominent landmarks essential to the story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It includes his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue, and the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where King, following in the path of his famous grandfather and father, was co-pastor until his death in 1968 (the church’s current senior pastor is Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock). It also includes the Coretta Scott King meditation garden, the crypts of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King and the Eternal Flame.  The center is run by the King family’s youngest daughter, Dr. Bernice King.

In a recent interview with theGrio, she discussed the importance of nonviolence as a strategic tool against violent acts.

“Conflict and violence are not the same. Conflict is natural. How you handle the conflict is the issue,” King told theGrio.

“Nonviolence gives you the strategy and the mindset and the posture and the discipline and the power to overcome these things.”